Genius Act clears U.S. Senate, signaling a major shift in stablecoin regulation.
The passage of the landmark Genius Act in the U.S. Senate has signaled a major shift in crypto regulation. According to industry experts, the change it could bring is hard to overstate. Stablecoins are on track to become part of a core trillion-dollar industry and transform everyday life for consumers.
Ira Auerbach, Head of Tandem at Offchain Labs, believes this regulatory clarity removes a major roadblock for adoption. The Genius Act has the potential to bring billions in institutional capital into the industry, already validated by the Circle IPO. He said in a note sent to crypto.news:
“By providing definitive regulatory guardrails for stablecoins, it clears the final major hurdle for institutional adoption, Auerbach stated. This regulatory catalyst… unlocks immense capital and innovation.”
This capital inflow will be transformative for the entire decentralized finance space, says Erbil Karaman, Co-Founder of Huma Finance. It will elevate stablecoins from speculative tools to “indispensable financial infrastructure,” he believes.
“As stablecoins begin to surge towards Citibank’s projected $1.6 trillion market by 2030, the game-changing infrastructure won’t just be the stablecoins themselves—it will be the payment financing layer that transforms them into powerful tools for global commerce,” Erbil Karaman, co-founder of Huma Finance, seperately stated.
Genius Act to boost global adoption
Regulatory clarity is what major institutions have been waiting for, said John McCarthy, General Counsel at the DeFi lending protocol Morpho. This applies not just to U.S. firms, but also to institutions around the world.
“That clarity likely will usher in numerous new issuers and drive adoption by institutions and retail alike for everything from payments to settlement to lending. It also sends a very strong signal globally,” McCarthy stated. I would expect other countries to look very carefully at passing their own laws to enable tokenized forms of money.”
Other countries are already watching developments in the U.S., said Evan Auyang, Group President of Animoca Brands. Hong Kong, where the gaming company is headquartered, was an early mover, but now needs to act decisively, Auyang explained.
“Asset tokenisation is an inevitability, and for Hong Kong to preserve the city’s financial leadership, it needs to make stablecoins a strategic priority to ensure its success,” Auyang stated.
Stablecoins will transform everyday life
Stablecoin regulation unlocks the potential for companies to create products that reach millions, said Stephane Gosselin, CEO of OneBalance. These products will soon resemble traditional apps more than complex DeFi protocols.
“With improving regulations like the Genius Act, major platforms will soon onboard millions,” said Gosselin. “The future will see stablecoins powering everyday experiences without users needing to understand the complexity,” he added.
This growing adoption could transform everyday life for consumers, said Lane Rettig, Head of Research at the NEAR Foundation. One promising use case is remittances—but Rettig emphasized that regulators must leave room for startups to innovate.
“Stablecoins, especially dollar stablecoins, can help everyday families by making remittances faster, safer, and cheaper, and protecting their savings from inflation,” Retting stated. “But regulation, including this act, shouldn’t place too much of a compliance burden on cryptocurrency startups, and should ensure the right of ordinary citizens to privacy.”
Stablecoins could become a risk to privacy
Wider stablecoin adoption also creates a tangible risk to privacy, with some comparing them to central bank digital currencies. Rob Viglione, Co-Founder of Horizen Labs, one of the earliest zero-knowledge projects, launched in 2017, warns that privacy must be built into any stablecoin framework.
“Without privacy by design, stablecoins risk becoming programmable surveillance tools similar to CBDCs,” Viglione stated. Zero-knowledge proofs, FHE, and encrypted smart contracts prove that privacy and compliance can coexist. If we want stablecoins to serve everyone, not just institutions, we need to build for both,” he added.
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